Rosalie H. Hartzell, age 91, of Grinnell, died on Saturday, December 16, 2017 at Grinnell
Regional Medical Center under the care of Grinnell Regional Hospice.
A funeral service will be held 10:30 a.m., Friday, December 22, 2017, at the Smith Funeral
Home in Grinnell with Pastor Phil Culham, pastor of Prairie Lakes Church in Grinnell,
officiating.
Interment will be in Hazelwood Cemetery in Grinnell.
A reception will be held in the Buckley Dining Room at the Mayflower Community, 619 Park
Street in Grinnell.
Visitation will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday at the Smith Funeral Home and her family
will greet friends from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday evenning.
Rosalie Harriett (Heitink) Hartzell was born the daughter of Gerrit and Mary (Brush) Heitink on the family farm northeast of Lynnville, Iowa on May 5, 1926. She was raised on the family farm near Lynnville and educated at country schools. She graduated from Grinnell High School with the class of 1944.
Rosalie was united in marriage to Raymond R. Hartzell on August 20, 1944 at her parent’s home near Lynnville. The couple made their home in Grinnell and were blessed with three daughters, Kay, Vicki and Kim. Rosalie was employed at several local areas business, which included: JC Penney, General Telephone Company, Cunningham Drug Store, Dr. Phipps Chiropractic, Denniston and Partridge Lumber Company, Wilcox and Garland Furniture, Wayside Florist, and at Grinnell Regional Medical Center’s gift shop as a buyer for several years.
She was a longtime member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Grinnell, Lydia Circle at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Grinnell Regional Medical Center Auxiliary, and the Elks Lodge in Grinnell. Rosalie’s family was first and foremost. She loved when her grandchildren and great grandchildren would come and visit and enjoyed attending many of their activities. She made each of her grandchildren their own stocking for Christmas, a tradition started by her mother. Rosalie and Raymond enjoyed traveling, playing cards and attending dances & functions at the Elks Lodge.
After Raymond’s death, Rosalie continued to travel with the Grinnell State Bank Heritage Club and she especially enjoyed the trip to Washington D.C. with her three daughters. Her enjoyments were baking cookies, shopping, sewing, playing cards (bridge) and visiting with friends and family.
Rosalie is survived by her daughters, Kay (LaVerne) Thompson of Ames, Iowa, Vicki (Fred) Dillon of Grinnell, Iowa and Kim (Tom) Clark of Newton, Iowa; 6 grandchildren, Craig (Patty) Thompson, Scott (Tricia) Thompson, Jason (Karen) Dillon, Troy (Jessica) Dillon, Jocelyn (Matthew) Stee, and Leasha (Ryan) Trease; great grandchildren, Dana Thompson, Megan Thompson, Max Thompson, Sam Thompson, Jenifer (Phil) Culham, Ben Dillon, Wyatt Dillon, Kyle Dillon, Jacob Dillon, Clara Dillon, Hailey Trease and Reilly Trease; and great great grandchildren, Ali Culham and Elias Dillon.
Rosalie was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond Hartzell; parents, Gerrit and Mary Heitink; brother, Gerald Heitink; sister-in-law, Jean Heitink; nephew, Douglas Heitink; and sister-in-law, Blanche Bryan.
-Des Moines Register, December 19, 2017